The Empty Heart
by RacheyRagdoll
Summary: It has been two years since the incident at St Barts hospital. John has been slowly but surely recovering, but now he has suddenly become paranoid. Wherever he goes, be it work or his local cafe, John thinks he is seeing Sherlock. Is John going crazy over the loss of his best friend, or could it be something more miraculous?


**Hello! So I just spontaneously decided to write a Johnlock fic and although I've only managed to write a short prologue so far I thought I would post it to see if anyone was actually interested in reading it. It's post Reichenbach and will eventually go into The Empty Hearse timeline. The prologue is spoiler free but it's best that you have watched The Empty Hearse for future chapters. Please tell me what you think so I know if people actually want me to continue with this.**

It had been almost two years since the incident at St Bartholomew's hospital. No matter where John went, everyone he met had heard about the incident, and

often recognized him from the numerous newspaper articles that had emerged shortly after. There was no denying it, no matter what John did; he could never

get away from his previous life. Not that he hadn't tried. After getting endless phone calls from Mrs Hudson, Molly and Mycroft, John had decided to cut out the

people he had loved altogether and start afresh with someone who had never met his former best friend. He moved out of 221b Baker Street, got a new

apartment and changed his phone number. Sure, being part of the Government, it would have been only too easy for Mycroft Holmes to have tracked him

down, but everything had been quiet. They were leaving him be, knowing that he would refuse to talk about it even if they tried to confront him. That was what

John wanted, to be alone with his thoughts and to mourn the loss of Sherlock Holmes, the bravest man he had ever known.

After meeting Mary Morstan, things started to change for the better. John found himself thinking about Sherlock less and less. For the first time since Sherlock's

death, he was happy. Of course, Mary had seen him in the newspapers alongside his former colleague, so he had had to explain his side of the story, making it

clear that Sherlock had not been a fake like some of the news stories had insisted. If anything, John was a loyal friend, and even though Sherlock was no

longer with him, he would still frequently defend him against anyone who tried to label him as a fraud. John had hoped that Mary would have been satisfied

with his explanation and dropped the subject, but she seemed keen to learn more details.

"So, Sherlock. You were rather close to him?" Mary asked, pouring out some tea from the teapot into two cups.

"He was my best friend," John said simply, "no, no sugar," he said quickly, stopping Mary from dropping a sugar lump into his cup.

"So you were just friends?" Mary teased, putting the sugar lump into her own cup and stirring it thoughtfully. "Some of the articles I read seemed to think

otherwise."

"No, no we were just friends," John confirmed, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks. His relationship with Sherlock had been complicated to say the least. Of

course, they had only been friends, but that didn't mean their feelings for each other had not stretched further than friendship. John hadn't been sure, but the

glances he and Sherlock used to share had seemed to say something more. Of course, it could all have been a one sided affair. Sherlock had never been one

for sharing his true feelings. Come to think of it, Sherlock had rarely expressed fondness for anyone. He was, as he had put it himself 'a highly functioning

sociopath'. Sherlock Holmes liked to work alone. But then, why the sudden change of heart? Why had he suddenly wanted John Watson by his side at every

crime scene? He had obviously become very fond of his new colleague, but how fond, John wasn't sure. There was something about Sherlock, his pure genius,

his wit, his bravery, that attracted John like a moth to a flame. The first time he had ever met Sherlock he had been impressed, he had wanted to spend more

time with this man. And now he never would. Sherlock was gone, and even Sherlock Holmes could not be brought back from the dead.


End file.
